Apparatus for grading or separating fibers according to their length



Apr. 17, 1923.

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' w. L. BALLS APPARATUS FOR GRADING OR SEPARATING FIBERS ACCORDING TOTHEIR LENGfIH Filed Sept. 27. 1918 14 sheets-sheet 2 I zv rrwy'.

Apr. 17, 1923. 1,452,352

w. L. BALLS APPARATUS FOR GRADING OR SEPARATING FIBERS ACCORDING TOTHEIR LENGTH Filed Sept. 27. 1918 14 sheets-sheet 5 Apr. 17, 1923.1,452,352

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. 9/77; MK I w. 1.. BALLS APPARATUS FOR GRADING OR SEPARATING FIBERSACCORDING TO THEIR LENGTH I Filed saint. 27. 1918 14 sheets-sheet s vApr. 17, 1923. v

W. L. BALLS APPARATUS FOR GRADING OR SEPARATING FIBERS ACCORDING TOTHEIR LENGTH Filed Sept. 2'7. 1918 14 sheets-sheet 9 Apr. 17, 1923.

W. L. BALLS v APPARATUS FOR GRADING OR SEPARATI NG FIBERS ACCORDING TOTHEIR LENGTH 14 sheets-sheet 10 Filed Sept. 27. 1.918

Apr. 17, 1923.

W. L. BALLS APPARATUS FOR GRADING OR'SEPARATING FiBERS ACCORDING TOTHEIR LENGTH Filed Sept. 27 1918 14 sheets-sheet 11 Zgz/ 5% QQQM Apr.17,1923. 1,452,352

. W. L. BALLS APPARATUS FOR GRADING OR SEPARATING FIBERS ACCORDING TOTHEIR LENGTH Filed Sept. 27. 1918 14 sheets-sheet 12 I zzv zaforZz/zlmmfl Balk Apr. 17.,- 192 'W. L. BALLS APPARATUS FOR GRADING ORSEPARATING FIBERS ACCORDING 1'0 THEIR; LENGTH Filed Sept. 2'7. 1918 14sheefis' sheet -1 5,

W'fne a I am Q. (1 .Q I W? W. L. BALLS APPARATUS FOR GRADING ORSEPARATING FIBERS ACCORDING TO THEIR LENGTH Filed Sept. 27. 1918 14sheets-sheet 14 WZKSIS 66 all Patented Apr. 17, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM meme BALLS, or MANCHESTER, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR GRADING OR SEPARATINZG FIBERS ACGORIDING TO THEIR LENGTH.

' Application filed fileptember 27, 1918. Serial No. 255,957.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ll ILLIAM LAWRENCE BALLS, a British subject,residing at Manchester, in the county of Lancaster, England, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Grading orSeparating Fibers According to Their Length; andl do hereby declarethat'the following is a full, clear, and exact description. of the same.

This invention relates to apparatus for sorting or grading cotton, wool(or other fibers) for thepurpose of ascertaining the length of theindividual hairs or fibers of which the bulk or sample is composed andclassifying it accordingly, or for the purpose of gradin thematerialinto slivers or roves having fi. ers of approximately equallength, or between certain desired limits of length. i

The machine may be adapted for the use of cotton growers or others bywhich the various lengths of staple in a sample can be readilyascertained and classified; for use in the testing room or laboratory bywhich all' the fibers or hairs of varying length can be divided out andtheir relative quantities or proportions ascertained, and als as amachine for forming sliversor roves the hairs or fibers of each of whichwill be of approximately equal length or of a length between certaindesired limits, the dimensions of the machine and the degree ofclassification of the product depending on the particular object inview.

.The apparatus comprises two main parts,

a separator and a collector capable of being traversed relatively to oneanother, one part separating the hairs or fibers into lengths anddelivering them forward and the other part collecting the separated orde tached hairs graded according to their lengths. I

The separating part of the apparatus may be 'built up in one or moreunits each unit preferably 'comprising- A carrier -for therove, sliveror lap fed to the machine. I

' (7)) Feed rollers to receive the rove, sliver or lap and feed thematerial forward to the delivery rollers arranged in such a way as toobtain a secure hold upon the material but to allow the fibers to bedrawn out without breaking and capable of. being moved to and from thedelivery rollers or of being reversed to detach or draw back the mainbody or bulk of the fibers after a length or bunch has been seized bythe delivery rollers.

(0) Delivery rollers revolving continuously and delivering a fixedamount foreach unit of relative motion oi the tworelatively moving partsof the apparatus.-'

(d) A doifing or delivery mechanism comprising combs, brushes or otherdevice for taking the fibers from the delivery rollers and conveyingthem to the collecting apparatus. i i

The collecting part of the apparatus com prises a plush or card coveredroller or annular collector in close proximity to the separatingmechanism. A traversing move ment is given to one part of the machinerelatively to the other part, thus the separator may move and thecollector be stationary or the collector may move and the separatingmechanism remain stationary.

The invention will be fully described with.

reference to the accompanying drawings.

' F 1g. 1 is a diagram lllustrating the principle of selecting andsorting the individual fibers upon which the invention is based.

Fig. 1. is a sectional view of an'elementary form of hand operatedapparatus for carry-1 ing into effect the principle illustrated inFigure 1;

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of the apparatus shownin Fig; 1*.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of a machine applicable for laboratory orsampling purposes.' V 7 Fig. 3 isa section ot the roller and cam showingtwo positions of the roller head.

Fig. l is an elevation of the stationary rack cam and roller head fromthe back or reverse side of the machine Fig 5 is an elevation from theback of the roller carrying head or bracket Fig. 6 is an'end elevation.

Fig. 7' is a plan.

Fig. 8 is a sectionoi rollers showing a" modification.

Fig. 9 1s a side elevatlon of apparatus designed for use on a large orcommercial scale. 7

Fig. 10 is a plan of same.

Fig. 11 is a front elevation of one head of the machine.

Fig. 12 is a side elevation of one head of the apparatus.

Fig. 13 is a transverse section through one head of the apparatus.

Fig. 14 is a similar transverse section showing the parts in a differentposition.

Referring to the diagram Fig.1 as illustrative of the invention, acollector 1 and separating rollers 2 are shown in six relativelydifferent positions designated respec tively by the numerals I to V1,inclusive, the collector being either stationary or rotating, and theseparating rollers rotating and also traversing longitudinally of thecollector; Thus, as shown in Figs. 1 and 1 the collector 1 may comprisea roller havinga plush covered or otherwise roughened surface andmounted upon a shaft 82 provided with a hand crank 83. As also shown inthese figures, the separating rollers 2 and 2 are mounted forlongitudinal movement upon fixed shafts 81 and 81 arranged with theiraxes parallel to the axis of the shaft 82, said rollers being infrictional driving engagement and the roller 2* being shown as providedwith end flanges engaging the ends of the roller 2 so as to cause saidrollers to move longitudinally in unison. The shaft 82 may be providedwith a pulley 77 connected by a belt 84: with a pulley 7 8 on a sleeve79 rotatably mounted on the shaft 81 and having a slot to receive afeather projecting inwardly from the roller 2 and engaging a threadformed on the shaft 81. whereby the rollers 2 and 2 are rotated inunison with the roller 1 and are at the same time caused to movelongitudinally thereof.

In operation, a tuft of fibers a is presented to the rollers 2 whichwithdraw therefrom a number of fibers of different lengths, for thepurpose of illustration say three. These fibers are passed forward bythe rollers 2 as they rotate and each in succession as it leaves the nipof the rollers 2 is deposited on the collector 1, the shortest first andthe longest last. consequent upon the traverse of the rollers 2 theshortest fiber or hair a (Fig. 1) is deposited upon a different sectionof the collector1 than the other two hairs or fibers a and a so that thefibers or hairs a, a and (t of clifferent lengths are successivelydeposited upon different sections of the collector. At each successivetraverse of the separating rollers fibers or hairs of correspondinglengths will be deposited on. the same sections of the collector. Thesefibers or hairs can afterwards be transferred from the collectorsaccording to their relative lengths.

The machine shown in the drawings Figs. 2 to 7 is designed forlaboratory or sampling purposes and illustrates a simple construction ofmachine which may be used for ascertaining the relative length of theindividual fibers or hairs in a small sample of cotton or wool.

The separating part of the machine is constructed with a series offeed-rollers A to which the cotton or-wool or other fibers are presentedfrom a bunch or tuft placed in a tray or shoot (i behind them anddelivery rollers C by which the fibers or hairs are successively drawnout from the feed rollers A. The feed rollers A are arranged in seriesof pairs, the rear rollers A having a strong nip to hold the fibers andthe forward rollers A a comparatively loose nip so as to allow theindividual. fibers to be drawn out or separated without breaking them.The roller A is given its relatively strong nip by means" of: an elasticcord 17 (Figs. 2 and 5) which draws upon a: spring arm 18' bearing onthe end of the roller shaft, while the roller A is given its relativelyweak nip by means of alight leaf spring 20 which'engages the end of theshaft of the latter roller. The feed rollers A are mounted in bearingsin a rocking armor bracket D pivoted at f to a roller carrying head orframe F, and to which an intermittent motion is imparted by a suitablyshaped cam D, which cooperates with a roller D carried by the arm D andheld in engagement with said cam by: a spring D The arrangement is suchthat the feed rollers A are caused to advance to the delivery rollers C.presenting the end of the bunch or tuft of cotton or wool thereto,remain there while the delivery rollers take up a length equal to thelength fed up since last hip and recede leaving in the grip of thedelivery rollers (l a bunch or tuft of the fibres of varying length theforward ends of the fibers of which are all level. The feed rollers Aare geared together and are driven by a shaft (Z as'hereinafter morefully described.

The delivery rollers C are mounted in fixed bearings and driven (ashereinafter more fully described) with a constant speed of rotation andin direct relation to the collecting part of the apparatus. The fibersmay be taken from the rollers C by dotting or delivery mechanism such asby rotary ron'ibs ill or the fibers ma be delivered from the rollersdirect on to the collector F as in Fig. 8, the comb or collector intaking the hairs from the rollers C. grips said hairs loosely. In thismanner it will, be; understood that the shorter hairs will be drawn outof the tuft first and as progressively fed according totlieir lengthuntil finally the longest hairs are drawn. away from. the deliveryrollers C. The rotary combs E lll) lSl)

rotate in close proximity to the delivery rollers and are preferablymounted with a feathering movement and so centred as to collect or takeup the detached hairs or fibers as they pass the delivery rollers and toyield up their cotton as they pass the collector F.

The collecting mechanism is constructed of an annular frame G internallycovered with plush or card clothing to receive the fibers from thedelivery rollers C and combs E and may revolve around the separatingmechanism or the separating mechanism may revolve within the annularcollector G so as to cause fibers delivered at different times by thedelivery rollers to be deposited upon different parts of the collector;in the present instance upon different parts of its interior annularsurface circumferentially of the latter. It is preferred to revolve theseparating roller head F within the collector G as shown and as theroller head revolves the fibers are laid successively within thecollector G from the different sections of which they can be taken. Inthe latter event, the cam D will, of course, be

held stationary with the frame G. An air trunk E is mounted on therevolving head to induce a current of, air to blow the fibers onto thecombs E or collector G. The fibers are removed from the sections of thecollector G by hand or by a brush in the hand of the operator when asufiicient quantity has been collected to give the result of the test.

The parts above described are preferably driven from an electric orother motor M, four drives being required, namely, (1) a drive for thefeed rollers A, (2) a drive for the delivery rollers C (3) a drive forthe dotting combs E and (4) a drive for the roller head F.

(1) A pulley on the shaft of the motor M is connected by a belt M with apulley 1 fast on a shaft a? which is suitably journalled in the machineframe and upon which the roller head F is rotatably mounted. The shaft(Z carries a pinion 2 (Fig. 7) which meshes with a crown gear (l on ashaft (1 journalledin suitable bearings (Z on the roller head F. Theshaft d carries a worm 4 which meshes with a pinion 5 rotatably mountedon the pivot f of the rocking frame D which carries the feed rollers.The pinion 5 meshes with a gear 6 on the shaft of one of the feedrollers A which are all interconnected by gears 7 (Figs. 5 and 7).

(2) Fast on the shaft 01 is a second pulley 8 connected by a belt 9 witha pulley 10 fast on a shaft 10 journalled in the roller head F. Theshaft 10 also carries a pinion 11 which meshes with a gear 12 on theshaft 12 of one of the delivery rollers C.

. (3) Fast on the shaft d is a third pulley 13v connected by a belt 1 1with a, pulley on the shaft of the rotary carrier for the dotting combsE.

(4) The delivery roller shaft 12 which carries the gear 12 is providedat its opposite end with a second gear 13 which meshes with a gear 14*(Fig. 6) on one end of a shaft 15 (Fig. 4), journalled in a fixedbearing 16 on the frame. Said shaft 15" is provided at its opposite endwith a second gear 172/ which meshes with a fixed gear m supported bythe frame and disposed concentric with the shaft aZ, whereby rotation ofthe gear m causes said gear to travel around the periphery of the gearm, carrying with it the roller head F which is thereby caused to rotateabout the axis of the shaft 03.

The collector may if preferred consist of a roller 1 such as shown inFigs. 1. 1 and 1 covered with plush or card clothing placed adjacent tothe delivery rollers which are both rotated and moved longitudinally ofthe roller 1.

The machine shown in the drawings Figs. 9 to 14 is designed forcommercial purposes for forming a number of slivers or roves the fibersof each of which will be within certain fixed limits of length.

The separating part of the machine is constructed with one or morerotary heads F each provided with a series of feed rollers A, to whichthe cotton is presented from a lap B, and delivery rollers C by whichthe fibers or hairs are successively drawn out from the feed rollers.The feed rollers A are arranged in two, three or more pairs, the rearrollers having a strong nip to hold the fibers and the forward rollers acomparatively'loose nip so as to allow the individual fibers to be drawnout or separated without breaking them. as in the form of the inven tionlast described. The feed rollers A are mounted in bearings in a rockingarm or bracket D pivoted at f and to which an intermittent motion isimparted by a suitably shaped cam D. said feed rollers being therebycaused to advance to the delivery rollers C, presenting the end of thelap sliver or roving of cotton or wool thereto, remain there while thedelivery rollers take up a length equal to thelength fed up since lastnip and recede leaving in the gri p of toe delivery rollers C a bunch ofthe fibers of varying length the forward ends of the fibers of which.are all level upon delivery of the tuft of fiber to the delivery rollersC, said rollers will first grip the tuft by the forward end and when sogripped the rollers A which grip the tuft loosely will move rearwardlyremoving all the fibers not gripped between'the rollers C.

Instead of moving the feed rollers A. to and from the delivery rollers Cfor the purpose of separating or detaching a bunch of fibers from themain bulk they may be reill) versed and the fibers be alternately fedforward a given distance and then drawn back a less distance.

The delivery rollers C are mounted in fixed bearings and driven with aconstant speed. of rotation and in direct relation to the collectingpartof the apparatus. They deliver the fibers or hairs onto thecollector G through dofling or delivery mechanism such as rotary combsE. Rotary combsll rotate in close proximity to the delivery rollers andare preferably mounted with a feathering movement and so centred as tocollect or take up thehdetached hairs or fibers. as they passthedelivery rollers and to yield up their cotton as they pass the collectorG. p

The collecting part of the apparatus is constructed with a number(herein four) of setsof wire covered flats G which travel forward as theroller heads revolve upon which the fibers are collected, and from whichsaid fibers are stripp d by a doffer comb and delivered to coilers Hwhich arelof any ordinary or well known construction. This apparatus maybe .appliedfor separating or grading the fibers iubulk or on'acommercial scale, each of the four setsof collecting flats G andv slivercans H collecting fibers of a different length.

The general organization of the machine constituting this form of theinvention is similar to that shown in .2 to 7. The machine frame Fsupports the collector mechanisms G as .well as the fixed cam D and alsoprovides bearings for the shaft (Z upon which the rollerhead or heads Fare rotatably mounted. The shaft (Z is provided witlrone or more beltpulleys 1" to receive power from any suitable source and also :arries apulley (Figs. 10 and 11) conn-xcted by a belt 26 with a pulley 27 on theshaft 27 of the rotary dofiing frame which carries the combsE, wherebysaid-frame is rotated. The shaft 27 carries a worm 28 which meshes witha worm wheel 29 (Fig. 12) on one end of a shaft 29 journalled in abearing 29 carried by the head F, said shaft 29 having at its oppositeend a worm 30 which meshes with a worm wheel 31 on the shaft 31 of oneof the delivery rollers (l, whereby saidrollers are rotated. The shaft31 also carries a sprocket 32 (Fig. 11) connected by a chain 33 with astationary sprocket 34 fast to one of the bearingsof the shaft (Z,whereby the head F is rotated about the axis of saidshaft A bevel gear35 on the shaft (Z meshes with a bevel gear 36 on the shaft (Zjournalled in bearings (Z on the head F, said shaft (1 having a worm 37(Fig. 12) meshing with a worm gear 38 on the pivot shaft of the rockingframe D. Connected with the worm gear 38 for rotation therewith is apinion 39 meshing with a gear 4Q which in turnnieshes with. a pinion 41on the shaft'of one'of the feedroll'e'rs A. The shafts of the severalfeed rollers are connected by chain and sprocket or other gearing 42(Fig. 11),, whereby said rollers are rotated in unison from the gear 40.

. The mechanism for actuating the collectors Gr, doffing combs g, andcoilers 43 is shown in Figs. 9 and 10. Pulleys43 on the shaft (Z areconnected by belts 44 and 48 with pulleys and 49 on the shafts 45 and49Fof two of the four doffing combs 9, while said pulleys 45 and 49 areconnected by belts 46 and 50 with pulleys 47 and 51 on the shafts 47 and51 of the other two doffing combs g. The shaft 45 is provided with aworm 52 which meshes with a worm gear on a shaft 53 journalled in themachine frame F 2 and provided with a worm 54 meshing with a worm wheel55 on a shaft 55 alsO .lournalled in the frame F-. The shaft. 55 carriesa pulley 55? connected by a belt 56 with a pulley 57 on the actuatingshaft 57 of one of the collectors G. Said shaft 57 carries a secondpulley which is connected by a belt 58 with a pulley 59 on the actuatingshaft of a second collector G at the same side of the machine. The twocollectors Gr at the opposite side of the machine aresimilarly drivenfrom the shaft 49, as will be obvious without further description. Theshaft 55? (as also the corresponding shaft at the opposite side of themachine) is provided with a second pulley 68 which is connected by abelt 69 with a pulley 70 on the actuating shaft of one of the coilers 43on the correspondingside of the machine, said pulley 70 being connectedby a belt 71 with a pulley 72 on the actuating of the other coiler atthe same side of the machine.

The operation of the machine is as follows, during the course of asingle sorting action:

The feed rollers A having fed forward a length about one tenth of aninch of sliver, lap or roving since the last sorting action, the said,silver, lap, or roving is then pushed forward approximately half an inchquickly in the rocking movement given to th roller frame by the cam Duntil it touches one or other of the delivery rollers C it may then be.movedim'ore. slowly ,so that the said roller surface is moving thefaster and thereby brushes the end of the sliver smooth; finally itispushed quickly intothe actual nip of .thedelivery rollers C and heldthere until they have taken up a length equal to the length fed forwardsince the last sorting traverse. The rockinggear comprisingthe bracket Dand cam 1). then withdraws the feed rollers and the sliver as quickly asis conveniently possible, leaving the tuft of. fibers or hairs which thedelivery rollers C have gripped by their frontends held securely betweenthem. p r p I T e mock ng. g a emains. a re t du n the remainder of thetraverse while the feed rollers A continuously orintermittentthe frontends of the hairs emerge 011 the other side of the roller nip theycOmewithin the action of the dotting combs E, being drawn into the sameby air current produced by the rotation of the combs. Each hair as it isset free from the front of the delivery rollers C is carried away by thecombs or other dofling mechanism. The shortrhairs.

\ are necessarily the first to be set free, and

all

the longest ones last, intermediate lengths being set free atintermediate stages. I

Since each comb as it reaches the face of the collector immediatelygives up the hairs, it may have removed, to the collectoruntil ittouches, and since the combs are traversed on the same unit as thedelivery rollers, and since the traverse of the delivery rollers ispositively geared totheir revolution on their own axles, and furthersince the movements of the rocking gear always take place at the samepart of the traverse, it follows That successive units of the collectingpart of the machine such as the flats 6- receive successively longer andlonger hairs, to a degree of minuteness in classification which limitedonly by the number of collecting units employed, and hence by the lengthof each traverse.

' It will be obvious that various modifications may be made in theconstruction of the machine in which a traversing movement is given toone part of the machine relative tothe other part, that is the traversemay be given to the'unit or units comprising the separating head whichis preferred or the traverse may be given to the collector.

In thevery simplest form of the machine for testing samples the feedrollers may be dispensed with and the cotton be fed to the deliveryrollers a small bunch or tuft at-a time by hand as illustrated in Figs.1, l" and 1".

For a simple form of machine to be used by cotton growers or others forgrading samples a vertical reciprocating rectilinear traverse may beemployed with a gravity drive or a horizontal reciprocating rectilineartraverse with a pinion rotating in a rack first in one direction andthen in the reverse with a change at each end of the traverse and arotary plush covered roller to collect the fi em as they are deliveredfrom the rollers.

lVhere additional precision is required, the sorting traverse mayalternate with a traverse in which the end of the sliver is pushednearly but not quite into the nip of the delivery rollers. The latterwill then grip only such fibers or hairs as may have been displaced fromtheir original position dur. ing'the dragging out of the tuft previouslyremoved and sorted. These displaced fibers or hairs will be removed andsorted or merely collected during the supplementary traverse, leavingthe end of the sliver, lap or roving square and uniform in readiness forthe next sorting traverse. The percentage of fibers or hairs thusdisplaced to any given distance may thus be measured if so desired inaddition to the primary effect of the machine.

, What I claim as my invention and desire to protect by Letters Patentis r l. Apparatus'for sorting and grading fibers according to length,comprising menibers for firmly gripping therebetween fibers andseparating them from a tuft of fibers, means movable relative to saidmembers-for loosely engagingthe fibers as they aredelivered and acollector for receiving said fibers from said means. i

2. Apparatus for separating and sorting textile fibers according tolength comprising, rollers adapted to firmly grip and separate fibersfrom a tuft of fibers, receiving mechanism having a movement relative tosaid rollers and means associated with said receiving mechanism adaptedto loosely en gage the ends ofthe fibers presented by said rollers.

3. Apparatusfor separating and sorting textile fibers according tolength comprising. rollers adapted to firmly grip and separate fibersfrom a tuft of fiber, receiving mechanisinhaving a movement relative tosaid rollers and adapted to loosely grip the fibers delivered by saidrollers, and a collector for receiving the graded fibers. v

4. Apparatus for separating and sorting fibers according to lengthcomprising, separator mechanism and collector mechanism having relativemovement therebetween, said separating mechanism consisting of a lapcarrier, delivery rollers and feed rollers therebetween, a dolferbetween said feed rolls and the collecting mechanism. said deliveryrollers being adapted to grip the fiber firmly therebetween, whilefeeding the same to the dofi'er, the dofier being movable relative tosaid delivery rollers and adapted to loosely grip the fibers presentedthereto by the delivery rollers.

5. Apparatus for separating and, sorting fibers accordingto length,comprising a receiving and separating mechanism having a movement onerelative to the other; the separator mechanism comprising a carrier fora lap of fiber, feed rollers and delivery rollers, said delivery rollersbeing adapted to rotate relative to each other and to firmly grip a tuftof fiber therebetween, a doffer between the collector and delivery rollsadapted to loosely grip thefiber held by said delivery rolls, wherebythe fibers are separated seriatim according to their length; saidreceiver comprising a plurality of movableendless belts. and means forbringing the separator mechanism opposite the various bcltsone after.another.

6..App'aratus for separating and grading fibers according to lengthcomprising a col lector and separator having relative movementtherebetween, saidcollector compris ing a plurality of revolvableendless belts, and said separator comprising a lap holder, feed rollers,delivery rollers and a dofter between said delivery rollers andcollector in position to transfer fibers from the rollers to thecollector, said feed rollers and dofler being adapted to grip the fiberloosely and the delivery rollers being adapted. to grip the fibersfirmly when the apparatus is in operation. I

7. Apparatus for separating and grading fibers according tolengthcomprising a collector and separator having relative moveinent,said separator comprising a pair o'l delivery rollers adapted to firmlygrip and progressively deliver fiber to said collector, teed mechanismmovable relatively to said delivery rollers adapted to periodicallyinoveforward and then retract to feed fiber to said delivery rollers, meansassociated with the collector tor removing the fiber troni the deliveryrollers; said means and said feed mechanism adapted to grip the fibersloosely when receiving and feeding the fiber respectively.

8. Apparatus for separating and grading fibers according to lengthcomprising a collector and separator mechanism having a movementrelative thereto; said separator mechanism consisting of a carrier for alap of fiber, delivery rollers, feed rollers between said carrier anddelivery rollers; said feed rollers having periodic movement to and fromsaid delivery rollers to present the end of the lap thereto, said feedrollers loosely gripping the lap of fiber and presenting the sameto thedelivery rollers, and means associated with said collector to looselygrip the fiber to remove the same from said delivery rollers.

9. Apparatus for separating, sorting and grading fibers according tolength comprising means for loosely holding and progressively feeding atuft oit fibers, means for intermittently seizing the ends of the fibersso held, firmly gripping, separating and delivering thesame, andmeanshaving movement relative thereto to successively collect theseparatedfibers as they are delivered.

10. Apparatus for separating, sorting and grading fibers. according totheir length comprising members for loosely holding and feeding forwarda bunch of fibers in the Form of sliver, delivery rollers to seize andfirmly grip the ends of the fibers presented to them, and separate themfrom the bunch, means to intermittently rock the holding members topresent the fibers to and withdraw them from the delivery rollers, andmeans with a relative movementto receive and collectthe fiberssuccessively as they emerge from between the delivery rollers.

Signed at Manchester, in the county of Lancaster, England, this 6th dayof Sep' temberl9l8.

WILLIAM LAVRENCE BALLS. \l'itnesses: I

.l. QwnnN OBnrnN, HARRY BARNFATHER.

